Yasiel Puig guilty of lying to IRS Agents, "When given the opportunity to be truthful, Mr. Puig chose not to", says IRS Officer

Yasiel Puig, a former MLB player mainly with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has agreed to plead guilty in a US federal court to charges of lying to law enforcement officials about illegal sports betting. The entire document related to his case was unsealed by Department of Justice officials on Monday.

Yasiel Puig currently plays for the Kiwoom Heroes in the South Korean Baseball League. Earlier, the Cuban-born professional played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2013 to 2018. He then made a move to the Cincinnati Reds before he was eventually traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2019.

The right infielder will plead guilty to one count of making false statements that could see him get a maximum jail sentence of five years. He has also agreed to pay a fine of $55,000. Yasiel Puig is expected to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court on November 22.

IRS Criminal Investigation Los Angeles Field Office Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said in the release:

"When given the opportunity to be truthful about his involvement with Nix's gambling businesses, Mr. Puig chose not to... Mr. Puig's lies hindered the legal and procedural tasks of the investigators and prosecutors."

According to a plea agreement dated the 29th of August this year, Puig started placing bets on sporting events in May 2019 through a third party person who worked on an illegal gambling operation. The operation was headed by Wayne Nix, a former Minor League Baseball player.

Yasiel suffered losses in excess of $280,000 within a month. He paid off $200,000 before getting access to place additional bets. Between July 4th and September 19th, Puig had placed 899 bets on tennis, football, and basketball sporting events.

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Yasiel Puig was noncompliant initially

Puig in Cleveland Indians v Minnesota Twins

In January of this year, Yasiel Puig was interviewed by IRS agents in the presence of his lawyer, where he repeatedly lied to the agents. During the interview, he falsely stated that he only knew Agent 1 from baseball and that he never discussed gambling with him. Meanwhile, Puig discussed sports betting with Agent 1 hundreds of times on the telephone and via text message.

He was then shown a cashier's copy of the $200,000 check he had sent, which he also denied knowing anything of. Eventually, later in March, Puig himself contacted the agents and pleaded guilty through a Whatsapp voice message.